Marketing Superhero

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Have A Plan

The first truth related to getting results from your marketing efforts is that you must have a written plan. I don’t care if your plan is jotted down on a napkin. As long as you have it in writing, decided on tangible goals and have identified, and prioritized, the steps needed to achieve those goals, you have a plan.

I encounter too many good people who do not plan their marketing. Even worse, they have the makings of a plan but they don’t trust it. They give up and turn their backs on it. The biggest failure among small and large companies is a failure to have a plan. And the next biggest mistake is having a plan but ignoring it.

A plan is the essential road map to achieving your marketing goals. Without one, you have no focus, no direction. If you don’t have focus and direction how do you train your people? As the saying goes..."If you don’t know where you are going you're certain to get there."

Get where you want to be. Get a plan.

Besides, tracking the results from your plan gives you important measurements. This is good. What worked? What didn't work? Where is there room for improvement? When you second-guess your plan, and change course, you deprive yourself of relevant intelligence. You are doomed to making the wrong choices again. Make good choices. Get a plan.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A.
Successful marketing isn't rocket science. It only takes a few bright people in your organization who understand four things about your business. Having a clear understanding of these four things is like having a holy grail on the road to more customers.

1. Who is your customer?
2. What business are you in relevant to that customer?
3. What does your customer value most about their experience with you?
4. What makes you unique in relation to your competition?

The secrets here are in changing how you see the world. It is in knowing that your customers are human beings with emotions. They are willing to give you their money in return for the benefit they get from your product. That benefit is rooted in an emotional need or desire. And, your customers will reward you if you give them a delightful experience from beginning to end.

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. What examples of your work do you have?
What clients may I speak with for a reference?
What results has your work achieved?